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The Snowman Trailer: Michael Fassbender is After a Serial Killer

The first trailer has arrived for the film adaptation of Norwegian crime novelist Jo Nesbø's book The Snowman, starring Michael Fassbender. A big screen version of Nesbø's 2007 best-selling novel has been in development for more than five years now and even had Martin Scorsese attached to direct at one point during its pre-production. Scorsese ended up serving as an executive producer on the project instead, with Tomas Alfredson of Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy fame, calling the shots.

Fassbender stars in The Snowman as Harry Hole, a police officer with the Oslo crime squad who investigates the mysterious disappearance of a woman upon the first snow of winter - only to realize that the person responsible is an elusive serial killer who has evaded capture for decades. Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation) costars as Katrine Bratt, a new addition to the Oslo police force who works alongside Hole to outwit said mysterious murderer, before they strike again.

Universal Pictures/Working Title Films is distributing The Snowman stateside later this year. The first trailer for the film (see the video above) outlines the basic plot and offers but a glimpse at the disturbing MO of the enigmatic killer in the movie, in the process. Most of the trailer focuses on Fassbender and Ferguson's characters, though the duo's Oscar-winning costar J.K. Simmons (trying on a non-American accent here) also makes a brief appearance here. You can also check out one of the official posters for The Snowman, below:

With a supporting ensemble that also includes Charlotte Gainsbourg (Nymphomaniac), James D'Arcy (Dunkirk) and Toby Jones (who also worked with Alfredson on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), The Snowman is certainly packed when it comes to onscreen talent. The European Noir/crime genre elements of the project are right in Alfredson's wheelhouse as a storyteller too, based on his previous output. This is further evidenced by the unnerving atmosphere and chilling color palette of the footage in the film's trailer - one that promises to deliver on the crime/horror inherent to its premise.

Interestingly, the Harry Hole character has been featured in several novels written by Nesbø since he first debuted on the printed page (in 1997's The Bat) - yet there's not yet been any real indication that The Snowman is meant to serve as the beginning of yet another franchise headlined by Fassbender. Then again, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy featured Gary Oldman as George Smiley - another character who has appeared in multiple books to date - and wound up being a one-off film adaptation too, so this approach to The Snowman isn't anything out of the ordinary for Alfredson, as a director.

As for The Snowman stars Fassbender and Ferguson - both will be back with fresh installments in their respective franchises (X-Men and Mission: Impossible) next year, with their roles in X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Mission: Impossible 6. For those in the mood to watch the pair in something intended more strictly for mature audiences only though, The Snowman may just do the trick.